Turning Point
by Kircheise
Summary: No matter how many times he and the Usurper fought in Insomnia, he found himself leaning against Regalia once again. It was like a never ending circle. But what if - what if he could change this? Change the past to bring completely new future. Everything would be different, right? Noctis should learn that if things involve Ardyn at some point, they never go according to one's plan.


_He could hear Prompto's laughter as he dodged attack of mountain and took out his camera just to snap a better photo of that monstrosity. Gladio growled, yelling at blond to focuse, striking the moving monster with his Tempest, Noctis finishing attack with hard blow to its side._  
 _And then there was voice of Ignis, shouting at them to turn around and run to get to safety as mountain came closer, crushing the land under its massive feet._  
 _Of course, they escaped. They just shrugged it off, laughing at it later, thinking about it as another adventure on the road to get to their real goal._  
 _He could hear laughter of his friends, cheerful voice of Prompto and…-_

 _Blur. Darkness. Flashing of fire, sound of weapons, swords clashing…._

 _"What will you do now? Banish the daemons and bring peace? Erase me from a history once more?"_  
 _"This time you can rest in peace… Close your eyes… Forever more."_  
 _There was a soft smile on other' man lips as he closed his eyes, his form slowly disappearing with small lights radiating from his body._  
 _"I will wait for you in the Beyond…."_

He gasped and opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. This thing again. After every journey to the past Lucis he experienced, this had to come back every time at the end. Maybe some side effect that Gentiana haven't mentioned while introducing the power that Umbra possessed to him?  
Was it just a nightmare messing around with his mind?  
Then why it felt so real? He would swear that he could almost feel it on his skin.  
Flashbacks of burning feeling tingling on his hand as he felt power of Ring to consume him, Izunia's dark eyes that could no longer belong to any human being shining in the light of Crystal, the feeling of peace when the Ring of his father shattered into millions of pieces... It felt like the story was over.  
That everything was finally as it should be and even his soul was finally at peace but... was it?  
He frowned and shook his head.

 _'Those had to be just some side effects from stress. '_

Situation in the land wasn't the brightest and everything was on his shoulders.  
And people around Noctis expected big things from him. Soon, he was about to come to official meeting with Camelia Claustra – the first secretary of Accordo. It was on him as a current King of Lucis to negotiate terms and make positive impression that could help them in their move during waking up of the Hydraen, the astral known for her raging powers of sea.

But for now, here he was, alone in one of the rooms in Altissia with only grey dog sleeping right beside his bed.

Prompto desperately wanted to get some nice shots of city floating on river; Ignis went out to get some new ingredients and insisted on Noctis getting some rest. Gladio probably went for a little stroll, because he didn't want to slack off with his training, not even here.  
He sighed and gently patted dog's head. Umbra looked up, eyeing him curiously, wiggling his tail. He smiled slightly, glancing at notebook tied to his back.  
During all of those years it was the only way how he could keep in contact with Luna. And now, finally, he was going to meet her, face to face, bring back marriage as a sign of hope and finally, FINALLY bring the conflicts to an end.  
It sounded almost like a Utopia, dream that could never come true but… They've come so far and all of the struggles come always to end, no?  
Still, he had that strange feeling eating his insides like Starscourge - like it all happened already, like they were literally running through some story that was told in circles, only to bring them to bitter end and then back to beginning.  
To give them hope and then crush it, once, twice… With no way out of it.  
He shrugged, trying to get that idea of his mind.

 _The sound of roaring waves , shrieking of Leviathan, majestic astral as he collided with her during one of the warp strikes, pain in his head and the glimpse of red hair…_  
 _Blood, loss, sadness…_  
 _Blue flowers in the field and her gentle voice._  
 _She loved them. Watched them grow in Tenebrae._  
 _It was the only thing left after Imperium overtook their country._  
 _Gentle smile fading into the darkness of ocean._  
 _Leaving behind only heavy feeling of responsibility and guilt._  
 _And that goddamn ring._

He hissed and clutched the frame of bed. Umbra whined silently. He shook his head, trying to get the flashing colors out of his sight. What the hell?  
"It's okay, buddy. Just a headache. " He smiled slightly at dog and stood up carefully, stretching, going to window, watching the water glimmering in light of the morning.  
He sighed. It was about the time to gather party and go, they couldn't waste any more of it. The summoning would take place soon. They had to be ready.  
He frowned and took his coat, fixing it in place. Kingly Raiment. His father told him to use it for a marriage and official purposes but… He couldn't even remember properly when he changed to it. Was it some kind of official meeting? No, probably not, they didn't encounter anyone who was important in political field (Beside Chancellor Izunia but to be perfectly honest, he would rather forget that meeting) until now. Well, he could also cross out drinking night with Ignis behind their backs looking after their diets. So the only thing left was that it just….. Appeared on him? Them, since guys wore their brand new Kingsglaive outfits too. He snorted. That really sounded ridiculous, like some ghost story his father told to him when he was kid.

 _The soft light of fireplace. Small chat, smell of Ignis' home cook meal._  
 _He started to cook again, during these 10 long years, huh?_  
 _Cold and dark night, with daemons lurking around but…_  
 _Warm feeling inside of his chest and … gratefulness._  
 _For every moment with them he could cherish._  
 _For all the time they've spent together._  
 _In good. In bad. During the storm or nice day._

Now he found himself on the floor, with Umbra licking his face. And Gladio in the doors. Just great.  
"Noct! Are you okay?"  
"Couldn't be better." He shifted slightly on his elbow, blinking.  
"Yeah, of course, you really look like that, clever mouth." He grabbed him by arms and helped him to stand up. "What happened?"  
He opened his mouth, to tell him.

 _'But really, how ridiculous it sounded? It couldn't be real, right? They had no time to waste, with Summoning behind doors on some…. Dreams. '_

He shook his head and sighed.

"Just a headache."  
"Your last headache caused an awakening of Titan in Duscae and as ado we got bunch of MTs from Imperial troops that tried to sabotage us. I'm not even speaking about that weird Chancellor."  
"I still remember that clearly, thank you for reminding me."  
Gladio snorted silently. "We should get ready. Prompto and Ignis are waiting downstairs."  
"Yeah, yeah."  
He just glanced at dog next to him, who wiggled his tail.  
"Wait here, buddy." He sighed, looking back at Gladio and nodding, following him out of doors.

 _ **...**_

"So, how it went?" Gladio looked at Noctis concerned. Boy sighed, crossing his arms.  
"She promised to help us. Man was right yesterday. She may seem as a strict woman, but it looked like we were able to get her on our side. For a while, at least. " He looked at Ignis. "She is worried about the outcome of summoning for her citizens. She doesn't want to get involve in a war but she wants Empire to be destroyed – well, same as we do."  
"I get it you promised her our help during the evacuation in case of problems." Ignis nodded slightly, watching Noctis, who nodded too.  
"Aw, Noct being gentleman at his best always."  
Gladio snorted and Noctis gently slapped Prompto's arm, shaking his head. Ignis fixed his glasses.  
"It cannot be helped if we want to earn her trust, I suppose. Also it's your duty as King to help other nations and earn good political relationships and future experience in this field."  
"Yeah yeah. I know. "  
"Very well then." Ignis looked at other.  
Gladio stretched.  
"We should split. Me, Iggy and Prompto will cover your back so you can get to Leviathan without any problems…"  
"… As well as we will help during evacuations of citizens in case things go wrong. Your goal is to get to the Hydraen before Imperial forces could sabotage the summoning in any way and obtain the blessing. We will keep in touch in case of emergency." Ignis finished for him.  
"Yeah! We will be right there if you need us, Noct! You can count on us." Prompto beamed.  
Raven haired boy smiled, nodding.  
"People are already gathering for Lady Lunafreya's speech." Gladio glanced at the crowd. "Time to get to the work."  
Others nodded.  
"Let's go."

 _Gladio's glare. His words stabbing him right to his soul._  
 _Useless. Acting as coward._  
 _Unable to protect the ones he loves._  
 _Regret._  
 _Others got it worse._  
 _His friend left in the darkness after…_

They looked at him, watching him in silent surprised.  
 _'What was-?! '_  
Oh. He didn't realize he grabbed Ignis by his arm, looking at him with wide eyes. He frowned and let go of him, looking away.

 _'Don't go there.' A small voice nudging in his mind._

"Sorry. I just… Be careful, guys."  
They looked at him confused, but didn't tell anything, just nodded, adding "Be careful" as well.  
He watched their backs slowly disappearing in the mass of people that was getting bigger with every little moment.

 _ **...**_

He realized that… He knew how this was going to happen.  
It took him just time of one hit by Leviathan and colliding with sharp stones on the floor to realize he already … Saw this. Felt this on his skin before.  
Relived this moment?  
He watched Luna trying to save him and then… the red glimpse of hair from his, as he realized later, visions or maybe even fragment of memories.

 _Ardyn stabbing Luna… Him, laying there powerless to stop him._  
 _Her courage even on the verge of death that stopped the Leviathan from her raging and helped him to obtain blessing – oh but for what price?_  
 _His dream of her, shining in the never ending fields of those beautiful blue flowers…_  
 _And the ring. Ring that brought down on them only sorrow and pain._  
 _It was same. All of it. Every second._

As soon as he opened his eyes, Noctis knew that he would find it, clutching it in his palm. He knew, right after Ignis opened the doors, a cane in his hand and a scar on his face, partially hiding behind glasses with dark visors.

 _He knew that he saw this scenario before._

After all of the things that happened, he should find out what was really going on.  
No matter how many times they fought in Insomnia, no matter how many times he destroyed the Fallen One, he always found himself leaning against Regalia near the road to Hammerhead when he opened his eyes.  
He heard Prompto's whining, a music from radio; saw Gladio crossing his arms and Ignis fixing his glasses behind the wheel. He felt the sun on their backs, heat radiating from asphalt.

Everything that had to happen was before them. Their destiny, which he couldn't change even after all that time, waiting with its arms opened, silently watching their steps towards the bitter end.

 _Again.  
Circle, with no end; a snake eating its own tail._

But they…. They didn't remember any of it. Not even slightest fragment. They still thought there is a chance for a happy ending.  
They were still playing cards, Prompto cheerfully laughing as he won another round of game or as he took another great photo, excited about lighting in his pictures; Ignis collecting recipes and Gladio enthusiastically signing in for taste testing.  
They didn't have to think about future they didn't know.  
Noctis stood up from his bed and opened the doors of caravan silently so he wouldn't wake anyone up, going outside. Fresh night breeze caressed his hair and face. Somewhere in distance he could hear howling of daemons, a light or darkness radiating from their forms, creating small dots on the dark horizon.  
And suddenly, in the silence of night, even with memories and his best friends close to him once more, Noctis felt….  
Alone.  
Alone with responsibility of _KNOWING_.  
No matter what would he try to do to avoid the events, he knew that in the end, his friends would persuade him to do the right thing as a King.  
He snorted bitterly.

 _Right thing, huh? His duty._

He looked down.  
There was silent tapping of paws on the pavement. Noctis looked around. A dog with grey fur was walking close to him in dim light of lamp, a small notebook tied to his back. He cocked his head to the side and barked.  
"….Umbra?"  
Dog whined silently. Noctis crouched next to him and gently stroke the fur, patting dog's head.  
' _Umbra – The Shadow. Well, he really does remind me of one_.' He smiled softly, untying the notebook and opening it, looking at message from Luna.  
Oh, how he wished he could write down everything he had in mind. How he could change the future for everyone, including her, for better. Rewrite the whole history. It sounded so … grand, didn't it? But if there was any way, at least to end this whole story he-….!

 _"What will you do now? Banish the daemons and bring peace? Erase me from a history once more?"_

Ardyn's voice resonated in his mind. He frowned.

 _'Erase him…. From history?'_

He remembered the tale that red haired man told him. About the Chosen One that just wanted the best for his country two thousand years ago.  
To heal thousands of people and help them escape a destiny that was even worse than death. And for what?! For them to demonize him?  
He would almost pity him not for everything he had done to his closest.  
But….What has he become? Driven by revenge after he fell from his grace when Astrals saw him unclean, when Crystal refused him…? He said it alone.

 _Monster._

 _'But what if .. He could change this? What if this never happened…? What if he could stop him at the very beginning? In the past Lucis. Change the past to... bring completely new future. Everything would be diffrent, right?'_

He frowned

 _Past Lucis._

He clutched notebook and looked at Umbra.

"I think, I will need your help, attaboy."

* * *

 **A/N: Crossposted on AO3 under the same name! Well, I found my older account here so why not to use it properly once again. :'D**


End file.
